Is Your Phone Keeping You Awake?

Gone are the days when you had to run to the kitchen just to answer the one telephone in the house. Now, your phone seems to always be with you. Beyond that, it is much more than just a tool to talk to your friends and family. The phones of today allow you to do just about anything that you could do on a personal computer.

The difference is that you can literally take care of those tasks anywhere that are. This includes in the bedroom. That is where a problem could occur. If you are the type of person that has trouble shutting down their phone for the night, you are probably going to be kept awake as a result.

The Phone Keeps Your Brain Working

You might not think about this very often, but your brain needs a break from time to time. That is what sleep is for. When you use the phone in bed, you are keeping your brain psychologically active. It no longer has the opportunity to shut down itself. When your brain becomes stimulated by the phone, you will end up staying awake for longer. The best thing to do is to shut the phone off so that your brain no longer has that to focus on. You can then relax on your mattress and get ready for a great night of sleep.

Blue Light and Melatonin Don't Mix

You might not realize it, but there is a blue light the emanates from your phone. This is not good for your eyesight and it adversely impacts your brain as well. Because of this exposure to blue light at night, the natural levels of melatonin that your brain would usually create is suppressed.

As you may know, this is the hormone that is helpful in regulating your normal sleep cycle. It also helps you know when it is time to wake up. When you have low levels of melatonin in your body, it will be confusing to know when it is time to sleep and when it is time to get up. You do not want to throw your internal body clock off. One way to keep that from happening is to switch the phone off as you get into the bed.

REM Sleep Patterns Are Delayed

When you look at your phone, you may see something that excites or upsets you. This will upset your sleeping pattern and make it difficult to fall asleep. The delay in getting back to your REM sleep is disturbed. All of this because you could not wait until the morning to check your phone. It simply is not worth it.

As you can now realize, your phone may very well be keeping you awake at night. If that is the case, you will want to set some guidelines for yourself when it comes to technology and your bedtime routine. Simply put, it is time to keep the phone out of the bed with you. You want to be relaxed when it is time for bed. When you can get the phone out of the equation, you may very well find that you are finally able to sleep great once again.

Bonus infographic: Getting In Bed With Your Gadgets


Courtesy of: Onlinepsychologydegree.

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